Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, observed on 4 April:

In the Central African Republic, nearly 20,000 Central African refugees returned to their homeland voluntarily in 2024. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says this was the highest annual number of people returning to the country since the voluntary repatriation programme began in 2017.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the General Assembly event on the International Day of Zero Waste, in New York today:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Autism Awareness Day, observed on 2 April:

In Ecuador, a UN team arrived on 24 March to support authorities to respond to the environmental emergency caused by a major oil spill. The spill in the Esmeraldas Province, in the country’s north-west, has contaminated key water sources, leaving half a million people without access to safe water and sanitation.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the General Assembly event to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, in New York today:

As the new school year starts today in Afghanistan, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that an additional 400,000 girls there are being deprived of their right to education, bringing the total number of girls without access to this essential right to 2.2 million.

In Sudan, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has condemned in the strongest terms the looting of vital humanitarian supplies from Al Bashair Hospital in Jabal Awlia in Khartoum. These supplies are intended to support malnourished children and provide critical healthcare to mothers and newborns.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day of Zero Waste, observed on 30 March:

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that a surge in violence in Ituri province is harming civilians and hindering relief efforts.